


A Fabricated Reality

by thesaltydragon



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: AU, Gen, Swearing, boyf riends — Freeform, eventual richjake, eventually lol, i actually don't have plans or a plot for this so we'll see how this goes lol, i’ll add tags as this goes!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-03 02:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12738942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesaltydragon/pseuds/thesaltydragon
Summary: The SQUIP isn’t a computer. It’s a simulation. With its help, users navigate a fake world. Once the objective is completed, the simulation ends and the user may use its knowledge to complete the objective in the real world.There's no actual thought-out plan for this? SO bear with me





	1. Preview/Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, readers! I’m Elliot! This first chapter is just a preview or sort of prologue to the story! Its setting is Post-SQUIP! Thanks for giving it a try!

“You don’t want to drink that, Jeremy.” The SQUIP’s voice became more garbled with each syllable, sounding like an old recording, but it held a computerized edge that sent shivers to Jeremy’s spine. Or, maybe those were just electrical shocks. 

Jeremy found his courage and spat out, “Why not?” He’d long given up trying to speak telepathically; his pseudo-intimidating stance faltered as he heard his voice crack on both words. 

The SQUIP’s figure blinked out of existence long enough for Jeremy to drop his guard. Bad idea. It reappeared not six inches from the boy, bigger than before, but less vacillating and glitchy. Its voice rang out again, clearer than before, almost softer, yet more urgent. “Because then you’ll never be with her.” On the last word, it pointed past Jeremy, behind him. 

Turning around, Jeremy saw that his castmates had created an opening in the crowd, and there was almost an eerie light shining on the empty space. A foot came into view, a shoe. Then an ankle, a leg. Christine Canigula, but somehow not her, stepped into the circle, her face twisted into a smile she clearly didn’t want. 

“That is not Christine.” He stared at her, unable to look away. 

The SQUIP put a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder, but like always, Jeremy didn’t feel it. “I assure you, it is,” it chuckled as it spoke, as if it were excited. Its mouth opened again, but Jeremy stepped back from it and interrupted. 

“Even if it was,” his voice shook with the rest of his body, “I don’t think it’s what I want anymore.”

The SQUIP’s form flickered and blinked. “A change in objective? Fine. I can work with that. Just put the bottle down.”

“The new objective is getting rid of you!” Jeremy brought the bottle up to his lips. 

“NO!” the SQUIP screamed, albeit in Jeremy’s brain. “This isn’t real!” its blue figure wavered and its eyes held a sense of desperation.

“What the hell are you on about now?” Jeremy spat, the bottle remaining a mere centimeter from his lips. 

The SQUIP seemed smaller, vulnerable. “This isn’t real, Jeremy. It’s a simulation. That’s all I am. None of this is real!”

“Fuck off,” Jeremy murmured, tilting the bottle up and swallowing the last few drops of the Mountain Dew Red.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I LITERALLY HAVE NO PLOT FOR THIS AND THIS WAS ALL WINGED SO I'M SORRY IF IT SUCKS THANKS

“You called 911, right?”

“I thought Jenna did!”

“She’s recording this, you idiot!”

Christine dropped her purse to the floor in a frantic huff, her hands searching inside for her cell phone. 

“We need an ambulance, Jake!” She spoke at him rather than to him

“Well,” Jake scoffed, defensive, “I told you I thought Jenna called one!”

Christine only grunted. She stayed on her knees on the hard floor, beside the occasionally shaking, but otherwise motionless figure of Jeremy Heere. He’d been talking to her and Jake, but suddenly convulsed and hit the ground. 

The loud thud is what stopped her from dialing the three numbers. Turning around, Jake and Christine saw Michael Mell, a twelve-pack of old soda on its side on the floor by his feet. 

He was frozen before a broken, “Jeremy?” escaped his lips. 

Christine scooted back from Jeremy, her finger hovering over the 9 button on her phone. 

Leaving the soda behind, Michael made a sprint for his friend, dropping to his knees instantly. “Jeremy?” he pleaded, but was given no answer. 

Jake took a step forward. “He just freaked out, man,” he said, shaking his head. 

Michael looked from Jake to Christine, then to Jenna. “And she’s filming this?!” His voice held a dangerous edge. 

Jenna shrugged. “It’s for the EMT if they need to know what happened!” 

They all knew it was for social media.

Michael was breathing out of sync with himself. He couldn’t seem to get enough air, but every breath was too heavy at the same time. His blood ran cold. He found his hand inching toward Jeremy’s arm, and with every second it got closer, his heartbeat got faster. As soon as he put his finger on Jeremy’s skin, the boy sat straight up.

*****

  
Jeremy sipped on the slushy as per Michael’s nagging request. He couldn’t understand. He was at the mall? He’d just been at school! He tried to ask what the hell was going on, what happened, why he was there, but each time he opened his mouth, Michael told him to take a drink of the blue raspberry slushy he gave him shortly after waking up. An ambulance had not been called.

Michael sat across from him at the table they’d been at when Jeremy had swallowed that pill. Jeremy remembered it like it was yesterday, but a strange feeling told him it was actually _today_. That wasn’t possible, was it? He—

He looked down. His red, white, and blue striped shirt. His faded blue cardigan. The SQUIP had made him throw those out, how was he wearing them now? The SQUIP—God, the SQUIP. He didn’t want to remember that- that machine. Manipulating him and the people around him. Despicable. Evil. Asshole. Son of a—

“Jeremy?” Christine sat herself beside Michael, Jake on the other side of her. Jenna was nowhere to be found. 

“Yeah?” Jeremy croaked.

“Jeremy, drink your slush,” Michael ordered. 

“Michael, I was only asking if he’s okay,” Christine defended herself. Jake nodded in agreement. 

“He can answer when he’s done with that Big Gulp, okay?”

“Why are you so bossy?” Jake let his hands hit the table. 

Michael didn’t answer. He didn’t look at Jake, either. Jeremy slowly finished the cup while the other three sat and waited, Jake occasionally checking his phone. He and Christine left, but not before Christine pleaded for Michael’s phone number so she could know if Jeremy ended up all right.

“Can I talk now?” Jeremy said, annoyed, his throat cold and tongue blue. 

Michael took the cup from him. “Yeah,” he breathed. “Are you okay? What the hell happened?” 

“I don’t know!” Jeremy’s voice cracked in the way it always did. “How did we get here?!” 

“What are you talking about? I drove here with you, remember?”

“That was months ago, Michael!” Jeremy’s breathing was becoming erratic again. “This was months ago! I don’t even have these clothes anymore!” 

“Jer, slow down,” Michael’s worried tone softened, but was somehow more worried. “What do you mean this was months ago?”

“This whole thing! The seizure thing! The Crystal Pepsi!” He gestured to the case of soda that had been picked up from earlier and was put on the table.

“This is the first time this has happened, Jeremy,” Michael said warily. “What day do you think this is?”

“It’s- it’s November something! November fifth! Today was the play!” His voice broke on the last word.

“No, Jeremy,” Michael said even softer than before. “It’s August.”

“That’s not possible! This day has already happened!”

“I’m pretty sure it hasn’t!”

“It has! Chloe and Brooke are here! They’re gonna ask me if I want a ride! In a clothing store!”

“I don’t think so, Jer.” Michael shook his head. 

“Michael, you gotta believe me! We were just at the play! You saved us with Mountain Dew Red! Now we’re back here!”

“That didn’t happen. I think you had a dream.”

“It was too detailed for a dream, Mike! Months of detail! It was too real!”

It seemed to click with Michael. His doubtful expression turned into one of realization, his eyes widening, his lips parting slightly, like how they do when he’s focusing. 

“That pill,” he reasoned, “it did this. Whatever this is, it’s because of that computer. We need to talk to Rich.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again i am sorry  
> There is gonna be a little more waiting for the next chapter because I’m trying to actually plan this out? Also, I’m getting into the groove of writing these characters and might do oneshots as practice while I work on the outline for this one! Thanks for understanding!


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is filler basically. Short and to the point. But next chapter will be a lot of dialogue, so I thought it was best if I separated them.

“Do you know his room number?” Jeremy asked once the two of them had gotten in Michael’s Cruiser. 

“What room number, Jer?” Michael took the parking brake off and backed his car out of the parking spot. 

“At the medic center! Rich is in the hospital, Mike!” Jeremy was astounded. How could Michael have forgotten this? 

“No,” Michael said carefully, “he isn’t in the hospital. He’s fine.”

Jeremy was at a loss for words. He spent about a minute and a half opening and closing his mouth like a cartoon goldfish. Then, “But he- the Halloween party- He burned Jake’s house down! They-“ Jeremy suddenly remembered seeing Jake at the mall not even hours ago. No broken legs. No casts, no crutches, no wheelchair. “That…didn’t happen?”

Michael slowed at the stop sign by the mall’s exit and looked at his friend. “Halloween hasn’t happened, yet, Jer. I told you. It’s August.”

“Oh my god,” Jeremy sighed, looking down at his hands. “What happened to me?” It was all starting to click. Not make sense, but click. Everything he’d experienced after taking that pill didn’t happen. 

“I don’t know. That’s why we’re talking to Rich. He’s the one who told you about that damn thing. He must know something.” 

“Y-yeah,” Jeremy trailed off, and the two were quiet for a while as Michael drove on the highway.

“Do you know where Rich lives, Michael?” Jeremy thought this was a good question. He was proud of this question. He’d practiced it in his head six times before saying it out loud. He didn’t even stutter. The SQUIP would have shocked him if he had. 

“Well, no,” Michael admitted. “But I do know his brother works at the gas station by the school part time. He can tell us.”

“Of course you know that,” Jeremy let out a dry laugh. “You get sushi from there and it’s disgusting.” He couldn’t forget about Michael’s affinity for gross gas station foods. No matter how many months he thought he’d lived without him. 

“It’s better than school food, Jeremiah.”

Jeremy can’t argue against that logic. He spent the rest of the ride to the gas station trying to convince himself it was still August. It wasn’t going well, but he tried.

The 7/11 was not a clean place. An even grosser reason not to get raw fish there. There were rat traps outside and a dead roach greeted Jeremy on the way in. He almost stepped through a spider web. Michael walked in before him without hesitation. He’d done this many times. 

“Michael!” a girl’s voice rang out from the counter. “You here for another slush?” Jeremy turned around to see a girl about their age in a uniform, smiling. 

“No, sorry, Emily,” Michael said, walking to the counter. Jeremy followed. “I’m actually looking for Steven.”

“Oh! He’s in the back. I’ll get him for you!” The employee—Emily—went behind a door. 

“You really are a regular here, aren’t you?” Jeremy said. 

“Yeah, you knew that,” Michael replied.

“I just didn’t expect a first name basis with all the employees.”

“Expect so little of me, Miah?” Michael smirked, and Jeremy didn’t know why he was blushing. The nickname was familiar, it shouldn’t make Jeremy feel swimmy. 

“No, I just-“ 

“Michael!” A boy in the same uniform as Emily, probably Steven, emerged from the door in the back. “What can I do for you?” He winked.

Jeremy felt his face get hotter, but not from whatever it was before. This was…jealousy? No, not likely. A boy winking at Michael wouldn’t make Jeremy jealous. Don’t be absurd.

Michael smiled. “Hey, Steven,” he said as he leaned on the counter. “Where do you live?”


End file.
